Here's the latest from the 2024 campaign trail:
- The first sanctioned Democratic presidential primary takes place this Saturday in South Carolina, where President Joe Biden is a heavy favorite.
- Republicans turn to Nevada next week: Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is competing in the state-run primary, while former President Donald Trump is participating in the party-run caucus.
- House Democrats endorsed their first slate of candidates to take on Republicans in some of the most competitive districts on the map this fall.
E. Jean Carroll: 'We don't need to be afraid' of Trump
In an interview with MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show," E. Jean Carroll said she realized during the defamation damages trial this month that there was no need to be afraid of Trump as she sat in the witness stand and faced him.
"Amazingly, I looked out, and he was nothing. He was nothing. He was a phantom. It was the people around him who were giving him power. He himself was nothing," Carroll told Maddow. "It was an astonishing discovery for me. He's nothing. We don't need to be afraid of him. He can be knocked down, twice."
Carroll also said she "absolutely" would sue Trump again if her lawyers said there was another defamation case to be made.
Carroll spoke the same day Haley told Fox News that she trusted the jury's decision in awarding Carroll more than $83 million in damages.
"I think there have been politics played with prosecutors that have brought on some of these cases. I think there’s been politics played even with the judges. But I do think American juries still get it right," Haley said. "They listen to the evidence. They make the decision based on the evidence, and I do still trust it."
Haley made a similar remark yesterday on NBC's "Meet the Press" as she ramps up her criticism of Trump. She had previously declined to criticize her GOP rival when she was asked in a CNN interview this month to comment on Trump's being held liable for sexually abusing Carroll.
Donald Trump Jr., Brian Kemp and Glenn Youngkin to headline Washington and Lee mock convention
Donald Trump Jr., Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will be among the speakers appearing at Washington and Lee University’s Mock Convention next month — a student event that has often hosted future presidents and presidential candidates.
The event, which occurs at the university in Lexington, Virginia, every four years, models itself after the nominating convention for the out-of-power party seeking a return to the White House. The last day of “Mock Con,” which will be held Feb. 9-10, features a prediction by students of who will be nominated at the actual Republican convention in Milwaukee this year.
Also headlining this year’s event are former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who ran for president but dropped out this month; former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, a Fox News host; Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk; and conservative activist Candace Owens.
Cyberattack hits Georgia county where Trump faces election interference charges
A cyberattack that hit government systems in Fulton County, Georgia, over the weekend affected the offices of the district attorney who is prosecuting Trump on election interference charges, local officials said today.
All desktop phones, intranet and devices using county servers are down for all departments, including District Attorney Fani Willis’ office, said a county official with knowledge of the situation.
County employees received an email notification about the outage today, the official said.
NBC News campaign embed Alex Tabet spoke with hundreds of voters in Iowa and New Hampshire about why they're supporting Trump in the presidential primary.
Former IRS contractor sentenced to 5 years in prison for leaking Trump tax records
WASHINGTON — The former IRS contractor who leaked Trump's tax records to The New York Times, as well as the tax records of billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk to ProPublica, was sentenced today to five years in prison.
Charles Littlejohn pleaded guilty in October, and prosecutors sought the statutory maximum of five years in federal prison, saying he “abused his position by unlawfully disclosing thousands of Americans’ federal tax returns and other private financial information to multiple news organizations.” Prosecutors said Littlejohn “weaponized his access to unmasked taxpayer data to further his own personal, political agenda, believing that he was above the law.”
U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes sentenced Littlejohn at a hearing at the federal courthouse in Washington. He will also have to pay a $5,000 fine.
“You can be an outstanding person and commit bad acts,” Reyes said. “What you did in targeting the sitting president of the United States was an attack on our constitutional democracy.”
Reyes compared Littlejohn’s actions to other recent attacks and threats against elected officials, as well as to Jan. 6 defendants she has recently sentenced. She described his actions as a deliberate, complex, multiyear criminal scheme but said she believed he “sincerely felt a moral imperative” to act as he did.
Littlejohn’s attorney argued that he committed the offense “out of a deep, moral belief that the American people had a right to know the information and sharing it was the only way to effect change” and that he believed he was right at the time.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito endorses Trump
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia announced her endorsement of Trump today.
Capito, a member of Senate GOP leadership, cited Trump's record on the economy and immigration in a tweet explaining her endorsement.
She joins the majority of Senate Republicans who have endorsed the former president for 2024.
Biden hit the campaign trail over the weekend in South Carolina ahead of the state’s primary and delivered some of his most direct attacks on Trump yet. Politico’s Eugene Daniels joins "Morning Joe" to discuss.
Biden campaign brings on alums of N.H. write-in effort
While the Biden campaign and White House pretended like last week's Democratic primary in New Hampshire did not exist, they were clearly pleased with the results. They're hiring two people who were involved with the write-in effort on his behalf.
Biden's name was not on the ballot Tuesday because the primary was held in violation of Democratic National Committee rules. But he was buoyed by the write-in campaign self-organized by a group of New Hampshire Democratic officials. With no input or funding from the DNC or Biden HQ, they helped the president win 65% of the vote as a write-in.
Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., the 55-year-old Talenti Gelato co-founder, finished second with 20%. Self-help author Marianne Williamson finished third with 4%. Both had decided to place their names on the ballot.
Fresh off the win, the Biden campaign announced Sunday it is hiring Aaron Jacobs and Liz Purdy, who helped run the write-in effort, the Union Leader first reported.
Jacobs was one of only two paid staffers on the official write-in campaign, serving as spokesperson. It was a critical role since the shoe-string campaign could not afford TV ads and depended on generating free media attention.
Purdy aided the allied super PAC, which ran digital ads and sent direct mail to likely New Hampshire Democratic primary voters explaining how to write-in Biden's name on the ballot.
As Kyrsten Sinema negotiates on border, potential Arizona opponents have their say
PHOENIX — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona hasn’t yet said whether she will run for re-election in 2024. But the Democrat-turned-independent’s potential opponents are chiming in with their views on the big border deal Sinema is trying to negotiate.
Republican Kari Lake is staunchly against it. Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego said a bipartisan compromise is a good idea and used the proposal as an opportunity to hit out at former President Donald Trump, who is against the idea — and with whom Lake has closely aligned herself since she jumped into politics in recent years.
The full details of the bill to reduce migrant crossings and change the asylum system haven’t even been released yet. But the battle lines getting drawn in Arizona illustrate the dynamics of a potential three-way Senate race there in the fall.
Haley reveals new details of the ‘awful’ swatting incident at her home
Haley on Sunday revealed new details of the recent swatting incident that occurred at her home in South Carolina.
During an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Haley said that while she was not home when the incident occurred, her parents, ages 87 and 90, along with their caregiver were in the house.
“I will tell you that the last thing you want is to see multiple law enforcement officials with guns drawn pointing at my parents and thinking that something happened,” the former South Carolina governor said. “It was an awful situation.”
Trump takes credit for strong stock market, rails against potential border deal
Trump took credit for the strong stock market, claiming on Truth Social that it's performing well because "investors are projecting that I will win" the 2024 election.
"And that will drive the market up — everything else is terrible (watch the Middle East!), and record setting inflation has already taken its toll. Make America Great Again!!!" the former president wrote in all caps.
Inflation has slowed, however, in recent weeks and the economy has improved.
He also blasted the potential compromise on legislation to address the border crisis, saying that a bill "is not necessary to stop the millions of people, many from jails and mental institutions located all over the World, that are POURING INTO OUR COUNTRY," repeating a claim he has made regarding the mental health and criminal component of migrants in the past without providing evidence.
"It is an INVASION the likes of which no Country has ever had to endure," Trump continued. "It is not sustainable or affordable, and will, under Crooked Joe Biden, ONLY GET WORSE."
Trump went on to claim, again without evidence, that the border under his tenure was "the safest and most secure" in history.
"I didn’t need a 'Bill!'" he said. "They are using this horrific Senate Bill as a way of being able to put the BORDER DISASTER onto the shoulders of the Republicans. The Democrats BROKE THE BORDER, they should fix it. NO LEGISLATION IS NEEDED, IT’S ALREADY THERE!!!"
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., joins "Meet the Press" exclusively to discuss Biden’s re-election campaign and the divide within the Democratic Party over the war in Gaza.
First-of-its-kind campaign fundraiser in the works with Clinton, Obama and Biden
Biden’s campaign is trying to organize a first-of-its-kind fundraiser that officials hope would be lucrative and headline-grabbing, but also energizing for Democratic voters who so far have not shown enthusiasm for the party’s 2024 ticket, according to four people familiar with the planning.
The idea is for three Democratic presidents — Biden, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — to appear together at a fundraiser this spring, the four people familiar with the discussions said.
Discussions are underway to coordinate the presidents’ schedules, these people said, though no date has been set. The fundraiser would likely take place in March or April, two of the sources familiar with the discussions said.
Haley says the RNC is ‘clearly not’ an honest broker after calls to unify around Trump in primary
Haley blasted the Republican National Committee on Sunday, saying it was not an honest broker in the party’s 2024 primary race.
In an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Haley, the last remaining major GOP opponent to Trump, said the RNC was “clearly not” playing fairly.
“Do you think the RNC has been an honest broker in this case?” moderator Kristen Welker asked.
Haley replied, “I mean, clearly not.”
“If you’re gonna go in and basically tell the American people that you’re gonna go and decide who the nominee is after only two states have voted? I mean, 48 states out there?” she said. “This is a democracy. The American people want to have their say in who is going to be their nominee. We need to give them that.”
GOP super PAC makes first major Senate investment
The Senate Leadership Fund, the top GOP super PAC involved in Senate races, and an aligned group are making their first major investments in a Senate battleground, spending nearly $50 million on ads for the fall in Montana.
Senate Leadership Fund is reserving $24.6 million on the Montana airwaves, while American Crossroads is reserving $23.3 million, according to ad spending figures shared first with NBC News. The ads are slated to start Sept. 3 and run through Election Day.
"We’re optimistic about Montana because 18 years in Washington has changed Jon Tester," Senate Leadership Fund President and CEO Steven Law said in a statement. "His party bosses have already spent millions on TV ads trying to prop up Tester because he is such a compliant vote for Joe Biden’s extreme agenda."
Montana is a top target for Republicans looking to take control of the Senate, as one of three states Democrats are defending that Trump won in 2020. Trump carried the state by about 16 percentage points four years ago. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester won re-election by about 4 points in 2018.
Former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy is already in the GOP race to take on Tester, and he has support from top Republicans, including National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines, R-Mont. But GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale, whom Tester defeated in 2018, has also been teasing a potential run.
The top Democratic group involved in Senate races, Senate Majority PAC, is also making an early investment in Montana for the fall, reserving $27 million in Montana, Politico reported.
Inside the White House, confidence grows that a strong economy will sell itself to Americans
After a year of recession doomsaying, an unexpectedly resilient economy is boosting the White House as it ramps up selling its record to Americans who’ve just started shaking off their “vibecession.”
At the same time, senior administration officials say they’re increasingly confident the situation on the ground can largely speak for itself. The economy grew at a strong 3.1% pace between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the same period last year, every inflation measure is cooling, the job market remains strong and the stock market has hit record highs.
“Extraordinary” is how Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council, described the economy to reporters at the White House on Friday.
“We looked historically — we’ve never had a year where inflation has declined this fast while the economy has grown above trend and unemployment has remained stable at a low rate,” she said.
Eyes on November: Weekend campaigning for Biden, Trump and Haley
Biden, Trump and Haley all hit the campaign trail over the weekend with primaries in both parties fast approaching.
Biden traveled to South Carolina, where he attended the state Democratic Party’s “First in the Nation” dinner ahead of the Palmetto State’s Feb. 3 Democratic primary. Biden stressed his work to bolster Black Americans and said democracy “really is at stake for the first time in a long time.”
Trump, meanwhile, traveled to Las Vegas on Saturday for a rally ahead of the state’s Feb. 8 caucuses (as a reminder, Haley is participating in the Feb. 6 primary instead of the caucuses, so she will not be able to earn any delegates awarded through the results of those caucuses).
Trump focused most of his speech on the southern border, but briefly referenced the Friday ruling that he must pay $83 million in damages to writer E. Jean Carroll as part of the defamation trial, decrying it as “election interference,” per NBC’s Jake Traylor.
Haley held two rallies in her home state of South Carolina, which will hold its GOP primary on Feb. 24. She sharpened her attacks against Trump, imploring him to “man up” and debate her, and criticizing his “temper tantrums,” per NBC’s Sarah Dean.
Democrats endorse their first slate of challengers in the fight for the House majority
House Democrats are officially announcing their first 17 candidates to take on Republicans in competitive districts Monday, launching the “red-to-blue” program as part of a quest to regain control of the chamber this fall.
The candidates hail from districts that were hotly contested in the 2022 election and are likely to decide the majority in November. Some, but not all, were carried by President Joe Biden in 2020.
The announcement, first reported by NBC News, gives these contenders the official stamp of approval from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, planting a flag with donors, activists and party loyalists about whom they see as best positioned to win in critical districts.
Haley campaign says it raised $4 million since N.H. primary
The Haley campaign said it had its best week of fundraising of the entire campaign, bringing in $4 million since the last Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.
That total includes $1 million in the 24 hours after the New Hampshire primary, $1.6 million after Trump’s threat to “permanently bar” Haley donors from the MAGA movement, and $1.4 million after news of the now-withdrawn RNC resolution to declare Trump the presumptive nominee.
Haley sets her bar for South Carolina
Haley said she doesn’t have to beat Trump in South Carolina; all she has to do is perform better there than she did in New Hampshire last week.
That’s the bar Haley set for herself in her interview Sunday on “Meet the Press,” after NBC’s Kristen Welker asked the former U.N. ambassador if she needed to win her home state of South Carolina next month to stay in the race.
“What I do think I need to do is I need to show that I’m building momentum. I need to show that I’m stronger in South Carolina than New Hampshire,” Haley answered. “Does that have to be a win? I don’t think that necessarily has to be a win. But it certainly has to be better than what I did in New Hampshire, and it certainly has to be close.”
If you recall, Haley got 43% of the vote in New Hampshire — so she’s saying she needs to capture at least 44% of the GOP primary vote in South Carolina.
If you also recall, there are fewer moderates and independents who are expected to participate in South Carolina than we saw in New Hampshire — so getting 44% might be harder for her than it sounds.
Even if you consider it a low bar, given that South Carolina is her home state and that she’s already 0-2 versus Trump.